# The Cuban Experience. Reflections of a Neophyte.



## Roger Miller" (Apr 15, 2004)

I posted this back on my first 750th post count. Seeing as how the September Crash has given me the opportunity to have a second shot at this mile stone, i'm reposting this.

Ok then:

I am by no means a Cuban Cigar aficionado, probably never will be. However I have smoked a good many of these fine cigars over the last six months or so, and I thought I would share some of my thoughts and experiences. I will not be reviewing any specific cigars, just providing a gestalt overview of my experiences. Perhaps this will be a futile exercise in semi-coherent musings, but hey, it’s also my 750th post and I like to make my landmark posts substantive.

First: I have not made my way around the full pantheon of available brands. Nor have I traveled deep into the offerings in each brand. I feel as though I have just scratched the surface. I poke here and there, mainly based off CS member recommendations and reviews. I owe a lot of exposure to the pantheon to the tremendous generosity of CS members, and the opportunities offered in box-splits. I feel this as a gift, getting to test a brand without committing huge resources to a box. The down side is, of course, a couple cigars are a poor sample to make a reasoned assessment. But a gift it is nonetheless. I have gone through a good many boxes of my own, some more than one box, and have dented a score or more of others. A decent sample in my mind that I think qualifies me to start making some general observations.

Second: This is just personal preference; my main focus has been on the PC’s and TPC’s with a few Robusto’s and Beli’s thrown in the mix. The reasons for this are two fold; I really like this size of cigar,. I think it concentrates the flavors, provides adequate smoking time without obligating me to much more than a half and hour, and it keeps expenses down. Value that fits my lifestyle, can’t go wrong with that. I am sure that this is a limiting practice. Even with the same blend, different vitolas yield alternate experiences. At the same time it does offer a common basis for comparisons.

Third: Cuban tobacco is sublime. By that I mean it has a depth of character that I have not found in any NC cigar. Now I won’t go out and be buying Opus, Padron Anni’s, etc, spending my piggy bank just looking for a comparison either. So, that is for up the gut main NC offerings. The character of the Cuban tobacco has been coined “twang”. I never understood that, but you have to have a descriptor and Cuban tobacco has a unique character – I call it, well, Cuban. It has a full mouth roundness, tantalizing the whole pallet and tongue in a way the NC just does not accomplish. The finish is long lasting and straight up tobacco, not some sweetish, oddball, pallid or harsh finish I characterize with many of the NC’s. 

Fourth: Cuban cigars are all about being a cigar. No fancy packaging BS, no offerings in 23 wrappers, no eye popping high end graphic banding all designed to get you to smoke crap. You want this cigar – here it is. I really like that no-nonsense, straight forward approach. It’s honest, not slick.

Fifth: Secret pride. Well, what can I say about this. You know there is just something about having boxes of Cuban Cigars in my humidor. A petty, guilty, little pleasure I suppose, really quite infantile in scope. Guilty as charged -- so be it. Now, let me clarify SECRET. I never smoke my cigars with the bands on, and never tell a soul I’m smoking a Cuban. This is not about self aggrandized bragging rights, it’s personal. A failing perhaps in its triviality, a weakness of character of sorts. But I enjoy it as part of the Cuban experience.

Sixth: Damn these things are freaking expensive! No way to get around it, it’s a luxury and you have to pay. This keeps me in the NC market for good. I smoke a lot and can’t be shelling out the kind of money it would take to be smoking Cuban cigars day in and day out. There are plenty of good quality no-nonsense NC cigars available and these will always be my staple cigars. Even as I pine for a Cuban the NC’s will do, and often admirably.

Seventh: Vendors. Read Mo-The-Man’s post. These are cherished relationships worthy of nurturing and protecting. Don’t come asking me who they are, or who I deal with unless I know you very, very well through repeated relations founded on the highest order of integrity. Enough has been said about this topic.

Eighth and last: The age thing. I give up. I’m sure it is not BS, and I envy the brothers here who have these great collections. I’ve had my share of aged vs new production cigars. It’s a crap shoot in my opinion, at least the way I can afford to assess the situation. It’s not like I will be ordering a box each from 10 different years of production. I have only been at this 6 months, so it’s not like I have a huge warehouse to draw from either – never will for that matter. So if I get a box that is not smoking well, and I suspect it is because of youth, then that box gets put away. However, if the cigars are smoking well and I like the experience – burn baby burn – I rip through them. I had grand visions of a vast personal supply, building, in my minds eye, a 10 year inventory. Pipe dream, can’t afford it. But you know what, big deal. That last box of off-the-shelf 03 Bolivar PC’s, you know, I just don’t know how they could get any better.

Well, there it is. Again, probably in draft form and semi-coherent. I am sure I will wish I had waited a week and refined this post further. Perhaps I will add thoughts as they come to me. I hope there is some value to the members in here somewhere.

_____
rm


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## Da Klugs (Jan 8, 2005)

Liked it then. Liked in now. Nice Post.

Not sure it got better with age but....


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## psygardelic (May 24, 2005)

Likewise. Thanks for sharing.


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## BigDirtyFoot (Jun 20, 2005)

I'm with Dan and Dave on this one!


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## IamLoki (Sep 10, 2005)

Uh oh...now you've done it! You've opened pandora's box. Welcome to the darkside.


Nice post BTW.


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## pnoon (Jun 8, 2005)

VERY insightful post.


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## awhitaker (Sep 23, 2005)

So who's these vendors you speak of?  
j/k Great post.


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## Bluenote (Sep 12, 2005)

Great Post and great insight. It's observations like yours that can help a non-experinced ISOM smoker gain insight and feel better about *their* lack of knowledge (there is comfort in knowing that others go through the same things!). I'd be intersted to hear what some of your favorite NC's are...


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## Roger Miller" (Apr 15, 2004)

Bluenote said:


> I'd be intersted to hear what some of your favorite NC's are...


JdN Antano Machito
CAO Brazilia Pirhana
El Rico Habano Rico Club
Gloria Cubana S4 #4
Oliva Master Blends Robusto
Series X Tabu (discontinued)
Placencia TKO
Torano 1959 Gold Robusto
to name few...

_____
rm


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## miki (Jun 21, 2005)

I'm with Dan, Dave adn BigDirtyFoot on this one!  
Nice post.


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## TSW09 (Jun 14, 2005)

Very well put. great insight. way to tell it how it is.


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## Hunter (May 20, 2005)

Great post bro. Gotta love the slope!


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## MoTheMan (May 24, 2003)

Roger Miller" said:


> Cuban tobacco is sublime. By that I mean it has a depth of character that I have not found in any NC cigar. Now I won't go out and be buying Opus, Padron Anni's, etc, spending my piggy bank just looking for a comparison either. So, that is for up the gut main NC offerings. The character of the Cuban tobacco has been coined "twang". I never understood that, but you have to have a descriptor and Cuban tobacco has a unique character - I call it, well, Cuban. *When you ask a Havanophile what's so special about Cuban cigars, their answer is that they're unique.* It has a full mouth roundness, tantalizing the whole pallet and tongue in a way the NC just does not accomplish. The finish is long lasting and straight up tobacco, not some sweetish, oddball, pallid or harsh finish I characterize with many of the NC's.
> 
> Damn these things are freaking expensive! No way to get around it, it's a luxury and you have to pay. *But nonetheless, they're still an affordable luxury! (Per stick.)* This keeps me in the NC market for good. I smoke a lot and can't be shelling out the kind of money it would take to be smoking Cuban cigars day in and day out. There are plenty of good quality no-nonsense NC cigars available and these will always be my staple cigars. Even as I pine for a Cuban the NC's will do, and often admirably.
> 
> ...


Nice post. Great insights really well presented.


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## pyrotech (Sep 8, 2005)

An Excellent post, one which I'm in whole hearted agreement.


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## germantown rob (Sep 19, 2005)

So glad I stumbled upon this post. Well said! My problem is (one of my problems) is no matter how many NC's I smoke and enjoy I come back to the thought I'd rather be smoking a Cuban. However when it comes time to reach for a cigar I have a tough time picking up one of my cubans, even though there may be 60 or so sticks begging to be smoked I want boxes of them, no a whole walk in humidor filled with them. Not to be....yet. So I pick up a NC and enjoy the construction and uniformness that I can count on and just smile at the cubans and whisper your day will come. Thanks for your post


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## MikeZ (Sep 23, 2005)

My thanks to Germantownrob for resurrecting this thread. What an intelligent, well thought out, common sense explanation of one's attraction and every day reality of the Cuban Cigar Experience. As with GermantownRob, I'm a noob in most ways to cigars and have never had a Cuban. That's ok though. There's a whole world of good to great Non-ISOMs out there to experience. It's a bit like getting the wine bug. Where do you start? Can one bottle represent a vinyard's greatness? The more I learn about Cigars, the more I realize I'm just scratching the surface. Although that too, is a great thing about this hobby. A lifetime isn't near enough to experience it all.


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## Lamar (Dec 12, 1997)

Very well presented. Thanks for the post...destined to be a classic.


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## Da Klugs (Jan 8, 2005)

Happy Holidays Greg! A lost great post.


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## drevim (Dec 21, 2005)

Da Klugs said:


> Happy Holidays Greg! A lost great post.


Nice blast from the past. Missed this the first (or the second) time around. Thanks for digging it up Dave. Nice overview of our little world, Greg.


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## dyj48 (May 1, 2006)

This great post probably hits the majority of noobs with a year or less experience with cigars. This describes me almost perfectly....


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## TheDirector (Nov 22, 2006)

Well said!:tpd: 

Sounds like becoming a "cuban cigar afficionado" could be a life's work? :r


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## j6ppc (Jun 5, 2006)

Da Klugs said:


> Happy Holidays Greg! A lost great post.


If ever a post was bumpworthy then this one certainly is.


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## fireman43 (Oct 15, 2006)

Very good read. Puts things in perspective a lot of us can relate to. There is always more out there to learn. I know hardly anything about this subject, and am constantly learning more and more all the time. Great post! Thanks for bumping it for all of us who missed it!!


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## yayson (Aug 21, 2006)

Wow! Fantastic post, I related to 90% of it straight up, thanks to the OP and whomever stickied this.


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## SaltyMcGee (Dec 15, 2006)

As I begin my descent through the "dark side," I just now came upon this post. It's a really great summation of the beginnings of a noob's relationship with the cuban cigar. Part of what I like about this hobby, is the anticipation of the knowledge that I have yet to acquire.


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## RobinCoppell (Apr 7, 2007)

I agree completely, I never understood people who smoked cigars as a status symbol. Either do it because you enjoy it or not at all. I think that would be a problem if the embargo ended, a lot of people smoking just because "it's a Cuban"


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## ambientboy (Jun 10, 2007)

I remember my first Cohiba distinctly. It was my first Cuban and I was so excited. The proprieter of the cigarbar looked over at us when he smelled the luscious goodness and just shook his head while holding a huge grin. That when I knew I was "in."

I love the post, and appreciate it's resurrection, as I was not around for its genesis..thanks!


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## Isombitch (May 16, 2006)

Thanks for sharing! I also am fairly new to Cubans and much of what you said rang true. :tu


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## gregc (Mar 27, 2008)

Bump, for one of the finest posts on this board.
Kudos to you, Roger.


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## pnoon (Jun 8, 2005)

gregc said:


> Bump, for one of the finest posts on this board.
> Kudos to you, Roger.


Agreed.
A fine read for all.


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## jamesb3 (Jan 29, 2008)

Thanks for the post. Could not agree with you more. Thanks again.


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